


A Phoenix Tethered

by lildragongirl19



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Bittersweet, Comfort/Angst, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Male Friendship, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24097207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lildragongirl19/pseuds/lildragongirl19
Summary: A bird of prey wearing jesses can still fly and therefore has more mobility than one locked in a cage. But would one truly consider this freedom?Spoiler: This story takes place during events of the movie “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection”.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	A Phoenix Tethered

_“Yet each man kills the thing he loves_

_By each let this be heard._

_Some do it with a bitter look_

_Some with a flattering word._

_The coward does it with a kiss_

_The brave man with a sword.”_

_― Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol_

“Lelouch never wanted to come back from the dead! He’s here because I gave him no choice!”

C.C’s voice pierced through the clamor in the room. Lelouch heard it clearly over Suzaku’s shouting, her yell desperate and terrified. She had run forward, frantic, wrapping her arms around the soldier in a feeble attempt to stop the assault. The sudden interruption from the woman caused the soldier’s fingers to unclasp in shock, releasing their previously clenched hold on Lelouch’s collar. 

The more petite man stumbled backward, dropping to the floor when released. His arms immediately came up in reflex to protect his head. From under his arm, Lelouch cracked open an eye to see the other man looming above him. But Suzaku was staring at his own trembling hands, an expression of surprise on his face.

Eventually Suzaku lowered his fists. In the lamplight, Lelouch couldn’t help but notice the bruises and flecks of blood – his blood - on the other’s fingers. That evidence brought a brief revelation in his brain – that he truly was _here_ , awake and alive. 

After a tense moment where nothing happened, Lelouch realized he would need to be the one to move first. He pushed himself up, reaching to lean over the bare window seat he had previously used to stare out into the large cavern that surrounded the semi-buried fortress. He coughed harshly, the sound strained and gurgling. It hurt to breathe. Suzaku watched him motionless as he struggled.

When Lelouch’s coughing fit ended, there was another awkward silence. C.C. had stepped back slightly, apparently unsure of what to say next. Lelouch continued to hide his face, doubting whether he really wanted to turn to look or not. But just like he suspected, Suzaku eventually decided to break the silence.

“I am so sick,” Suzaku hissed through clenched teeth, “of your lies.”

“I have no apologies to offer,” Lelouch spoke softly, still refusing to look up. “None of them would mean anything anyway.” He heard an intake of angry breath above him.

“You bastard. Do you have any idea-“

“Suzaku, stop.” C.C. interrupted sternly. But immediately afterward, she glanced away ashamed. “Please,” she added more tentatively.

Suzaku lowered his gaze with a sigh, his shoulders relaxing slightly. The witch took that as enough to quell her anxiety.

“I’m going to get some things to clean you two up,” she stated simply, as if that ended the entire conversation and negated the altercation that had just transpired between the two of them. “You both are tired and hurt. Just wait here a little bit.”

She left the room swiftly, taking a quick glance behind her as she rounded the corner, almost as if to assure herself that the situation was safe to leave.

When the witch had left the room, Lelouch braved looking up. Suzaku, however, seemed quite unwilling to make eye contact. He looked toward his side, still and silent as a statue.

Lelouch sighed, gingerly clamoring up to sit in the window seat again. He leaned exhausted against the window as his head tilted to look outside. The gloom and soft light drifted down inside the cavern to surround the prison underground. Electric lighting spreading from dispersed points lit up what the faint sunlight from the desert above couldn’t easily reach. The entirety of the fortress was gigantic and lonely.

But from this darker vantage point, the world seemed exceptionally more peaceful than what lay outside. Above them were members of the Zilkhistan army that had attacked the Britannian ambassador tour just a week earlier. Inside this underground barracks, the group currently sought refuge in what resembled a tomb of metal and rock. And with a militia surrounding them, the Britannian forces and a few select remnants of the Black Rebellion wondered if this would truly become their grave.

Very few had knowledge of the gateway underneath it all - one of the few doorways into C’s World across the planet. It was at this very spot where Lelouch’s consciousness was released and returned. He awakened to find the thin strings of peace he left behind being stretched to their absolute max. And tangled within it all, his beloved sister Nunally had been taken against her will and hidden from the world.

Although it was to his own surprise that Lelouch opened his eyes, he did not hesitate to step forward and take the hand of a woman he had not spoken to in over two years’ time on Earth. Because when he saw C.C’.s face, noticing the fear and tears that risked to spill from her eyes, he understood that he wasn’t there because she missed him. He was there because people needed him. 

It was apparent, of course, that not everyone would be delighted to see him. Suzaku’s silence continued, and the unsure feeling in Lelouch’s stomach became too much to sit on. Inside he scrambled to bring together the confidence to speak.

“You had already been retrieved and unconscious when I came here,” Lelouch started hesitantly. Lelouch tried to break the silence gently, but Suzaku seemed less than interested in conversation. However, he also didn’t attempt to stop the former Emperor. The raven-haired man persisted. He felt this painful need to reconnect. He had to speak.

“But I was updated of recent events and circumstances. I was told you had been captured and subsequently tortured while escorting Nunnally.” These words did make Suzaku visibly flinch. Lelouch hadn’t intended the words to be an accusation, so he continued to make his meaning clear. “You protected her with your life. You’ve been doing that this whole time since back then. Thank-you for that.”

Suzaku sighed, the tension dripping down his body. His feet finally moved, taking him back towards the flat he had previously rested on further back in the room.

The soldier sat heavily upon it, elbows resting on his knees while his fingers came up to hold his forehead. He seemed extremely troubled.

“And I failed quite obviously. Some knight I am.”

Lelouch didn’t answer, feeling the obvious weight of guilt in the soldier’s words. It was apparent to him, that right at the moment, reassurance is not what Suzaku needed.

“Your confidence was foolish,” Suzaku continued bitterly. Lelouch blinked, somewhat startled by the sudden change in tone. “Did you honestly think I could replace you?” Suzaku then asked with audible sarcasm. Lelouch couldn’t help it; a small smirk tugged at his lips.

“In the end, Zero became more of a symbol rather than an influential persona. I never intended you to take over what I set in motion.”

Lelouch risked to stand up, testing the stability of his feet. The entire ordeal since ‘waking up’ hadn’t allowed any time to think or reminisce. The aches in his neck and shoulders stretched with his motions. The side of his face throbbed faintly from the impact of Suzaku’s fist earlier.

“I had every confidence that the selection was appropriate,” Lelouch continued. “I believed in you more than anybody, Suzaku.”

The soldier lifted his head, glancing over at the former Emperor standing before the windowsill. Seeing his shadow stretch out on the floor before him, Lelouch felt small in that moment. It wasn’t a frightening feeling for him, but it was an uncertain one. When he donned the cape and mask of Zero, he was able to stand behind a figure whose identity was bigger than his actual self. But with nothing before him but an empty cell, two bewitched guards at the door, and his past friend desperately trying to comprehend everything that had transpired over the past day…Lelouch felt more exposed than he had in a long time.

Suzaku returned his gaze to his knees, his breath heavy and burdened. Lelouch knew he must be tired, well beyond what should be healthy for his body. But the exhale didn’t come from physical fatigue. This expression came from a mental exertion instead.

“I feel like a prisoner, you know?” Suzaku started, running a hand through his hair as if looking for something to distract himself. He was nervous, but Lelouch’s silence urged him on.

“This might be a poor comparison, but when you stood as that figure, you were to the world an eagle in flight. And though I was given the same feathers, instead I am chained and can’t fly.” Suzaku looked up sadly back to Lelouch. “I’m tethered to the ground. How can I protect anyone like this?”

Lelouch didn’t have an answer. His own mind was wandering, remembering quite vividly when he experienced these very same feelings of inadequacy. To hear another individual put it into observable words made the memories all the more real.

“I still don’t regret entrusting you,” Lelouch finally said. Although he meant it to sound supportive, a harsh huff from the bed alerted him that the soldier didn’t feel the same way of the statement.

“Entrusting? You mean _choosing_ me in your arrangements. Like I hardly had a choice by that point.”

Lelouch heard the faint warning in Suzaku’s voice. He didn’t want to press further or to instigate another argument. So instead he kept his voice quiet, feeling his shoulders droop with guilt of his own. The silence drew on for a significant amount of time, the young man not sure if it would be wise to speak or not. 

“Release me.”

The statement was barely uttered, but it carried with it a sharp intensity. Lelouch chanced looking up from the floor, his breath halting when he came to meet the glare from across the room. The faint light from outside within the caverns streamed through the window and reached towards Suzaku. The light was soft, but it still illuminated enough to reveal green eyes burning in anger.

“Get rid of this geass you placed on me,” he demanded.

Lelouch didn’t answer at first, and the silence that stretched onward made the Britannian solider impatient.

“I said-“

“I heard you,” Lelouch interrupted. The former Emperor of Britannia felt so vulnerable at that moment standing alone. His arm crossed over himself protectively, his chin lowering to hide his eyes beneath his raven bangs. “I don’t know how,” Lelouch continued. Suzaku held his breath. “And I’m not sure it if can be done.”

There was a pregnant pause. Suzaku was finally the one to speak, sitting upright. 

“What?” His voice was aghast. Lelouch swallowed nervously.

“When I first obtained my geass, I set up a multitude of tests to determine how it worked, such as its limitations and duration of effect. But plans moved forward, and I never did complete all of my experiments.

“There is also the question of where the source of my geass resides. Why didn’t it dissipate when my soul was in C’s World? Is it anchored in the flesh and blood of my body, which now apparently holds a Code for immortality? Is a geass’ effect solely tied to the life of its caster, or will it run for the life of its host? These are questions I do not have an answer for.”

“Tsk!” The harsh reprimand from Suzaku was easily heard, the man looking away with clenched fists in his lap. His hands trembled in outrage. “As if I should have expected anything else being one of your pawns.” Lelouch stood helpless, knowing that spouting any sort of apology would be meaningless to the other man.

“There couldn’t have been anybody else,” Lelouch practically whispered. “I already stated, there was - and _is_ \- no one better.” Suzaku glared at him from the bed.

“You’re wrong,” Suzaku said sharply. “You _had_ no one else to choose from, because any other option had either betrayed you or died. I was obligated to try, but I failed over and over. I wanted to rectify my sins and mistakes in some way. My misery was overwhelming at times.” He looked back to the ground, his hands coming up to cover his face in what almost appeared to be shame. “But every time I tried to escape, your wretched curse prevented me from following through.”

“Suzaku, what do you mean?” Lelouch asked cautiously. Although he suspected the answer, Lelouch was scared to bring the statement forth into words. 

The soldier stood up in a flourish.

“I’m telling you that I’ve tried to take my own life, Lelouch!”

Even though the reveal was expected, Lelouch still winced to hear it. Suzaku’s fists trembled at his sides, his eyes like green fire. With an abrupt scoff, he turned harshly back to the mattress behind him. The remaining of his clothes and a bag of personal belongings had been tossed on it some time ago. Suzaku tossed the formal jacket top aside, rummaging through the bag with frantic gestures. After a few seconds, he withdrew an object so quickly that Lelouch didn’t quite catch a good look at it.

“I tried Refrain a couple times, desperate to go back before all this,” Suzaku started, marching past the other man. Lelouch stood rooted to the spot. He suddenly began to realize that everything was crumbling before him, his attempt to repair anything shattering in front of his eyes.

Suzaku continued to speak, but Lelouch didn’t hear most of what was said. Instead, Lelouch’s mind had been distracted the moment his eyes caught that flash in Suzaku’s hand as he passed. He pivoted quickly.

“Suzaku, wait-!”

His voice choked when he turned around. The window was directly behind Suzaku, casting his shadow far before him. The light behind created an intimidating silhouette. Suzaku was rigid in his stance, and from his right hand glinted the shine of a handgun.

“Suzaku…” Lelouch managed. Suzaku blinked, but didn’t move. His eyes searched the ground in front of him, as if words were difficult to find for him too. When he finally did break the silence, his words wavered slightly.

“I’ve tried to end this, Lelouch. Each time has always ended the same. I become too cowardly, or I eventually reconsider, or I get so close I’m almost free. And then, I just can’t anymore. The geass stops me.” He looked back up, his gaze filled with overpouring emotions. It was like a glass just on the brink of overflowing. And the glass was so brittle, if it toppled it would break into a hundred pieces.

“But now all this? All my suffering, all those days picking myself back up to honor that promise we made back then feel so worthless now. Just another deceit of yours to get your plan fulfilled!”

With one swift motion, the soldier brought the gun up in his hand to point at his own head, a finger already poised at the trigger.

“Suzaku!” Lelouch started to dash forward.

“Stay right there!” Suzaku hollered angrily back. Lelouch stopped, although it took all his bodily might to will his feet to remain in their spot. Lelouch gulped, finding his mouth dry.

“Suzaku…” he tried more gently. “Please.”

“I’m tired of carrying your curse. And I’m finished listening to you lie to those around you.”

“I’m begging you, not here-“

“Then take this geass off me!!”

Suzaku shouted, the outburst bouncing off the walls. Lelouch took a step back it startled him so much.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t know how!” Lelouch shouted back desperately.

After that, the room became uncomfortably quiet. The two room guards hadn’t moved a muscle during the entire dispute, the both of them frozen within the enchantment that Lelouch had placed on them earlier.

Lelouch could see the gun trembling in Suzaku’s hand, his expression pained. Lelouch wondered if the geass he had placed on his friend all those years ago was already becoming activated. Or maybe Suzaku was shaking with his internal struggle or rage. It was difficult to tell at this point.

Lelouch’s mind raced, trying to find a possibility where this would end in his favor. Suzaku’s anger was justified; it broke Lelouch’s heart to see the strife he had endured since the Zero Requiem. But what drove the panic in Lelouch’s head was the fleeting thought of Nunnally and her place in all of this.

If Suzaku went through with his intentions and pulled that trigger, then all of Lelouch’s plans to rescue his sister would fall through. The thought of moving on without Suzaku, without his most powerful ally, absolutely terrified him.

Everything would fail.

He had to keep trying to reach Suzaku’s reasoning. He had to convince him otherwise.

“Suzaku please, let me explain my plan,” Lelouch started gently.

“I’m finished being your knight on the chessboard.”

“I need your help.”

“When are you going to stop lying to me?” 

“Don’t make me do something I’ll forever regret.”

Suzaku hesitated with that, seemingly alarmed at the statement. With a snarl, his scowl returned. He brought the barrel of the gun to touch his temple threateningly.

“Regret?! I’ll add my blood to the gallons you’ve spilled before-“

“Suzaku, I order you to live!!”

The command boomed in the concrete room, echoing with all the authority Lelouch could muster.

Suzaku’s lips froze, and his eyes snapped open in shock. He appeared briefly petrified, the only change occurring in his eyes. His green gaze became tainted, a soft crimson glow outlining his once bright irises. It was the only visible evidence that the Power of the King had taken hold of its host.

The next moment, Suzaku grimaced as if in pain. His left hand flew up to cover his face, a single foot taking a step back abruptly as if he had been about to fall. He shoulders hunched forward.

But even with all this recoil from Lelouch’s words, the gun didn’t drop from its position.

“Agh…n-no…”

Lelouch held his spot, his fingers relaxing slightly as he saw the power take hold of his friend. Although Suzaku fought with tremendous audacity, Lelouch already knew what the result would be once the command had been given.

No one could stand against the will of Geass. Lelouch knew this personally. In the past, even his own resolve couldn’t overcome the influence of the person he hated most in the world. No mortal could overcome the grip of this power.

But Suzaku still struggled, the effort obviously painful for him. The hand that held the gun to his head shook violently with the effort as his body doubled over in strain. An eye peered from between the fingers holding his face, looking up to take in Lelouch watching his suffering.

From his vantage point, however, Lelouch only experienced his own misery as he observed. His heart clenched, and he felt a tremendous sadness cloud his head. He wanted to turn away, but his feet felt extremely heavy, and the weight was too much to make them move. Lelouch was left helpless to view his friend fight to an inevitable defeat. 

Eventually the battle between Geass and individual desire did come to end. With a sudden inhale, it appeared that Suzaku may have finally regained a momentary grip on his senses. But then a yell erupted from his lips, excruciating, as he aggressively ripped the gun from his head to point behind him towards the window.

“Son of a BITCH!!”

Immediately after his outburst, the gun fired again and again. The window behind him fractured at the point of impact from the first bullet, only to spider web into a canvas of breaks from the shots that followed. The next instant with a loud crash, the remaining glass shattered into a rain of reflected light from hundreds of sharp edges.

With an anguished cry, Suzaku continued firing the gun into the rain of glass. The ammunition disappeared into the caverns, ricocheting from the rock walls into darkness. The bangs continued on until the gun ran out of ammunition.

From there the echoes carried on briefly before they, too, faded. A few clicks were audible of the trigger being futilely pulled on the gun, but that also stopped.

Smoke trickled from the barrel of the gun. The glass lay scattered in shards and dust along the floor. Suzaku’s head hung, his hand still suspended in the air for a moment before dropping to his hip limply. He looked utterly defeated.

With the sudden explosion of noise and emotions over, Lelouch felt his own tension lessen.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do next, watching the soldier breath heavily with the aftermath. There was a part of Lelouch that wanted to apologize, but he knew he could never take back what he had done.

Nevertheless, he didn’t feel a heavy dread of hate in the room. There had been moments before, experiences far in the past, where the grudge was so thick between the two of them it almost had a physical presence. But in the quiet of the moment, that feeling wasn’t there.

Instead of anger from previous discussions, what hung in the air was an incredible sadness.

Suzaku didn’t look up, but instead allowed his knees to sink to the floor. The gun dropped noisily to the ground. His hands rested in his lap, palms upward, as if he was gazing into the emptiness within them.

Lelouch couldn’t stand it anymore and finally took the risk to step forward. He came beside his friend, kneeling down next to him. After a brief moment of uncertainty, Lelouch reached out to place his hand on Suzaku’s shoulder. The soldier seemed like any remaining fight had left him and didn’t flinch under the other’s touch.

“Please understand, if you can eventually,” Lelouch whispered. Suzaku didn’t give acknowledgement, but Lelouch was confident he was listening. “I can’t afford to lose you. It is extremely unfair and selfish of me, but I need your help, Suzaku. I can’t save Nunnally without you.”

The green eyes of the solider lifted slightly, making eye contact with Lelouch’s purple. The Britannian swallowed, nervous. Suzaku looked away, but then a small smile appeared.

“You know…you’re right. When we worked together, we did some pretty incredible things. You said you have a plan?”

Lelouch managed a smile in return hearing those words.

“I do.”

“And it’s all for Nunnally…right?” Lelouch blinked, not sure what his friend was exactly asking. Suzaku looked up again, searching for the answer he wanted to hear. “No one else,” Suzaku continued. “Not for the people of this country. Not for you and your ambitions. This is all for Nunnally, right?”

Lelouch nodded gently.

“Yes.”

Suzaku didn’t answer from there, but the more comfortable silence that followed as opposed to what came before it was well enough of a confirmation for Lelouch.

“Hey, Lelouch?”

The question was so soft, Lelouch wondered if the man had spoken at all or if he had just imagined it.

“Yes?” Lelouch inquired, pulling his hand away.

Suzaku suddenly looked abashed, his gaze falling back to his battered hands.

“When you were in C’s World,” Suzaku began tentatively. “Did you…did you see…?”

He hesitated. Lelouch waited. Eventually, Suzaku found his words.

“Did you see Euphie?”

Lelouch paused in surprise, but after a moment released his breath, his shoulders dropping. He thought for a moment, not only looking for an honest answer, but also the right words to put his feelings into a way that could be explained.

“I have bits and pieces coming back to me,” the raven-haired man admitted. “But for the most part, I can’t exactly place everything together to form an image.”

Lelouch leaned back on his heels. He pressed his temples with his fingertips in deep thought, as if he thought it would summon the answers he was desperately wanting to find. Suzaku watched in an anxious silence.

“What I recall most vividly,” Lelouch continued. “was how I felt. I was trapped. Isolated. A constriction of chains as my soul was held prisoner.” Lelouch looked back to Suzaku.

“I am confident my presence never left C’s World during that time. And you are already aware – that is not where the dead dwell.”

Lelouch wasn’t expecting the disappointment that appeared on Suzaku’s face. He leaned forward to place his hand on the other man’s arm comfortingly. “I’m sorry,” he offered, not sure exactly what else to say. But his sincerity was true. Suzaku let out a feeble chuckle.

“It was a childish hope, but at least I thought you might get to see her again. That’s too bad.”

Suzaku pulled his face up, a weak smile on his lips. Lelouch returned the gesture and removed his hand slowly.

“You honestly think I would get to see her, after all I have committed?” As dark as the joke was, Suzaku still huffed a brief laugh.

“I guess you’re right. Both our souls are probably not destined for the same place as hers.”

There was a long silence, the two gazing at each other. Lelouch’s brain was flipping through so many moments, and he suspected Suzaku’s was doing the same. So many memories whirred past – those filled with sunshine, green lawns, bouquets, the color pink, and laughter.

Eventually Suzaku blinked, looking away abruptly. In the larger amount of light that filtered through the now gaping window, Lelouch could see how Suzaku’s eyes shimmered on the brink of tears.

“God I miss her, Lelouch.”

The statement was so pitiful, like a young boy that had lost everything. Lelouch couldn’t keep his own head up afterward, the painful lump that suddenly formed in his throat not allowing him to.

Instead, he stared at his fists on his knees. He stared unblinkingly until his vision blurred. It was the sensation of tears hitting his fingers that revealed he had lost his composure.

“Me too,” Lelouch answered. It was pathetic and minimal, but it was all he could trust himself to manage at that moment. The former Emperor of Britannia wanted nothing more at that moment than to curl up and hide, to sink into the concrete floor and disappear.

A sob ripped his attention back, though, and Lelouch snapped his head back to Suzaku. The other man was curled up, his face in his hands. His shoulders rose with a shaky inhale before releasing a brief wail. It was pained and constricted, as if the man was using every ounce of strength he had to try and hold back his grief. 

Lelouch’s body acted out of his will. He crawled to close the gap between himself and his friend, the next instant wrapping his arms around the other in a tight grip. He felt Suzaku’s own hands clasp onto his arm, as if seeking additional strength. Together, the two wept. It seemed like years of repressed sadness and despair poured out of them. They had been reduced back to their former child selves, relinquishing all the expected strictness and stoic presentation of being an adult.

Although it took some time, their tears eventually did dry. They sat together, exhausted and unsure of what to do next, before a quiet voice interrupted the moment.

“Well, it looks like you two have had some time to talk things over.”

The soldiers at their door remained motionless, but between them stood the green-haired witch. Tucked underneath one arm was a set of towels, and in the other was a ceramic gallon jug.

Although both men looked up to acknowledge her, Lelouch was the one to stand up, his face relaxing into a smile.

“It was much needed, I feel, for the both of us.”

“I came rushing back as fast I could when I heard muffled sounds of gunshots. I almost thought –“ She was stepping forward, but she came to a stop when she suddenly noticed the glass shattered along the floor where the window once stood. “Oh, I see.”

Suzaku, who remained on the floor, looked away ashamed. But Lelouch lifted a hand to wave off C.C’s concerns.

“The concerns of right now are at a point that we can address them a at a later time. What is most important now is what is in front of us.”

A slight smirk appeared on C.C.’s lips. She seemed to recognized that tone from Lelouch; those times when he stepped away from his more vulnerable sincerity to resemble the confident persona he had created.

“It’s time for us to greet our guests,” Lelouch spoke, looking up towards the ceiling of their hideaway. “They are aware of the stories of Zero of the Black Rebellion. But they aren’t personally familiar with the stubbornness he can have.”

C.C. genuinely smiled at Lelouch’s comment.

“I still request a moment for you both to, at the very least, rinse off your faces.” She lifted the jug, which sloshed audibly with water inside. She approached Lelouch, handing him a towel that was noticeably warmed. “A war hero should approach a battle with a clean face. I’m sure you would agree.”

Lelouch smiled his gratitude, taking the towel and jug from her hands. With her hands free, the woman stepped away and approached Suzaku with gentle steps. He didn’t move as she knelt down beside him, allowing her to come close.

“You know, Suzaku,” C.C. began. “I see a bit of myself in you right now.”

The soldier blinked away any last remaining tears, his eyes peering into her own in quiet questioning.

“I too wanted to make change and accomplish all on my own. It was safer that way,” C.C. explained. “But eventually, I reached points where I couldn’t continue without another. Those moments terrified me.”

She brushed hair behind her ear, inhaling deeply as if collecting her thoughts. Lelouch watched quietly from his spot.

“If I was on my own, no one besides me would face consequences. No one besides me would get hurt, or so I truly believed.

“So when I was forced to continue with allies, my first thoughts were to give up entirely. It wasn’t worth the potential cost.”

She reached out to touch Suzaku’s arm. He didn’t pull away.

“But if I _had_ given up at those moments, then I never would have moved from that spot. It’s the same now – we can’t continue without you. We’ve reached that point where we’re scared and we realize we can’t make any more progress without involving others. But we _want_ to move forward. Please, you will help us, yes?”

There was an extended pause as Suzaku looked down to consider. But a small smile crept onto his lips.

“After that much honesty, how could I decline?”

Lelouch smiled then himself, stepping forward. He lowered himself to be beside the witch and the soldier. He placed a hand on both of his companions, looking back and forth between them with the first genuine grin since C.C. brought him back. 

“Thank-you. When you’re ready, we’ll head upstairs together. All our friends are waiting for us.”

End

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note –  
> I saw Lelouch of the Resurrection movie in theaters and although I LOVED it and fangirled profusely, I had high expectations of certain character reunions, especially Suzaku and Lelouch. If this story had been episodic and broken into pieces, I wondered if the writers would have taken the time to create a more extended, sincere interaction between the two. But with it being compressed into a movie, dialogue and slow moments sometimes are sacrificed to allow plot progression and more flashy action sequences.  
> So I was a bit disappointed in the much more rapid, terse reunion they had before having to move onto the next thing. Later on in the movie, there is a quieter moment between the two of them prior to the “final battle” that made me feel a bit better.  
> But as any fangirl, I couldn’t help but imagine how I would have wanted that scene to go. And that’s the magic of fanfiction, I suppose.


End file.
